Home Sweet Home
by CancerTheCrab
Summary: Set after "Greetings from Genosha". X-Men are trained mutants, ready to fight whatever evil may try to hurt humankind or mutantkind. Which means that instead sulking around the mansion they detected Mystique's presence on the island and managed to save Kurt. He wasn't left unscathed, though. Sickfic.


**A/N:** Oh boy. Oh…boy. I'm really sorry for not doing…anything for months. I've been busy doing stuff and other such things. I'm sorry for all my Problem with Multi-Dimensional Travel, too, for not updating in forever! And I'm eeextra sorry that this might be the only story I post for a while, finals are coming up and I'm withering away. Anyway, this is after the episode "Greetings to Genosha" because I was so frustrated when Kurt was so close to getting there! So, here you go.

 **Home Sweet Home**

oO-Oo

Kurt Wagner thought that he knew exhaustion. He thought that he'd already felt as tired and drained as he possibly could.

Kurt was wrong.

His energy was eaten away mercilessly as he approached the mansion by teleportation. Every time he bamfed, he took a deep breath that filled his lungs with rain. When he couldn't bring himself to teleport immediately, he fell into the freezing water below him. The cold seeping into his bones helped to wake him up again.

It took what felt like an eternity to get to the safety of the X-Men base. Kurt's throat burned and his head ached horribly by the time he touched down on the road leading to his newly rebuilt home. A single step toward it, just one step closer to safety, and he fell to his knees. He coughed uncontrollably. No matter what he did, his lungs would only allow him to breathe shallowly lest he start hacking up the organs. Then, he heard a familiar voice.

"That you, Kurt? Thought you were in Genosha."

"Logan," he coughed miserably, "You must- You must stop Magneto." Kurt said pleadingly.

"I'll get right on that, bub." Logan stood up.

The last thing Kurt saw was quite confusing. Surprisingly though, Logan's boot coming at his face and another Logan running toward him along with Kitty and Bobby didn't bother him much seeing as he was unconscious before the other mutants reached them.

oO-Oo

As for the others, the situation only got worse. Logan, the real one, unsheathed his claws with a _snikt_. His expression was so full of hate and fury that even Mystique felt like backing away. However she heard another beep from her watch and remembered she needed to be going, even if she didn't have the target. Mystique glanced down at the soggy mutant at her feet and wrinkled her nose when the smell of wet fur and brimstone reached her.

"You slimy bitch!" Wolverine's yell was her cue to make her escape. She ran, Iceman pursuing her, and Logan slid to a stop next to Kurt and fell to his knees next to him. "What did you get yourself into this time, Elf?"

"Oh my god," Kitty gasped. She kneeled, opposite to Logan, and touched her friend's face as the elder X-Man. Little grains of salt were stuck on his sodden fur, imitating stars in a navy sky. The illusion was marred by the grimace on his face, the freezing water trickling off of him, and the terrifying wheezing that was Kurt's breathing. Bobby and Storm returned to them without Mystique.

"She got away." Bobby said simply but his tone became disgusted, "Did- Did _she_ do that to Kurt?" He pointed to Nightcrawler's right leg. On his thigh was a ring of burnt fabric which no doubt hid raw, red skin.

"Doesn't matter," Logan snapped, "We need to get him inside."

"I'll get Hank!" Kitty said.

oO-Oo

Kitty, and Bobby were to wait outside until Storm, Hank, and Logan said they could come in. Currently, the senior X-Men were cataloguing all of Kurt's wounds.

The fuzzy little man had a burn wrapping around his lower right thigh. They suspected some sort of rope had caused it, or maybe a mutant on Genosha. They had _no_ idea what had happened over there, so the jury was still out on the burns. Kurt's face was bruised from Mystique's kick and every time Storm's eyes lay upon his cheek her heart beat faster and a flurry of snow threatened to fall on Logan. He had no other wounds, but instead he was shivering violently, his temperature was climbing, and his breathing was labored. All were symptoms of pneumonia but the only way to make sure was to wake up the man.

"I have to confirm some symptoms." Hank said. "We have to be careful, though, he was under attack the last time he was conscious. I believe he'll recognize you the fastest, Logan, so be ready"

"I hate to do this to him," Storm said. "He must be exhausted."

"We have to. The little shit probably bamfed here from Genosha." Despite Logan's harsh words it was obvious that he was worried about his friend. "The fuzzy elf is just that stupid." Storm nodded once and reached forward to brush her hand through Kurt's drying hair and then shook his arm lightly.

Kurt had always been a heavy sleeper, but never enough to have him wake up the moment she nudged his arm. In fact, he was sitting up within seconds he was sitting up and whipping his tail at her. She leapt back quick enough to avoid getting nicked by the spade.

"Kurt! Elf! It's us!" Logan leaned close into Kurt's face and clutched his shoulders. "It's us!" He cried again.

Chest heaving, Kurt slowly calmed. His eyes were still glazed with fever but recognition sparked in them. "L-Logan? I-" His words dissolved into coughing that made Storm wince. "Meine Freunde, I apologize…" He trailed off and his face pinched. Pain lines deepened around his eyes and mouth, and his shivering got worse for a moment. He swayed where he sat on one of the pristine beds and almost collapsed into his best friend's chest but managed to scrounge up whatever strength he had left to speak. "Genosha…it is not a haven. Magneto," Kurt said his name with so much venom that he couldn't help but cough again, "He imprisons mutants. He is a _dictator_." Even speaking short sentences left him with pain deep in his chest and lightheaded.

"Easy, easy now. You have to rest. We'll take care of it when you're better." Hank stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Kurt simply nodded and tried his best to keep his eyes open. Fatigue was pulling at him, making him sway again. "Kurt does your chest hurt?" A nod. "You are having trouble breathing?" The question came out as a statement, but nevertheless Kurt nodded obediently once more. "Alright. You can rest now." With that, the skinny man was out like a light. Hank lowered him down onto the sheets with care. "What we must first do is dry him off. Then I will begin an antibiotic treatment, and you," he pointed at Storm, "Will address his burn."

"I'll go get some towels." Logan said.

oO-Oo

Once Kurt's fur was dry and fluffy and he was in more comfortable clothes, Hank moved him to a clean bed and started the antibiotics. They tucked him under the fresh sheets after Storm wrapped his leg and Logan grabbed more towels and a bowl of cold water.

Kitty's head popped through the door to the infirmary.

"Can we come in yet?" Her voice was quiet and tentative.

"Okay," Hank said, "He may not wake up very soon. The teleportation did a number on him." The door cracked open, revealing Forge and Bobby standing in the hallway. Kitty ran forward and skid to a stop at Kurt's side. There were bags under the lanky man's eyes and despite being elevated on the softest pillows, he was still wheezing. The strain showed on his face even when he was asleep.

"Oh, Kurt." She said. It pretty much summed up the atmosphere.

Storm's hand squeezed the young girl's shoulder. "He'll be okay, he just needs some rest."

The team stayed by his side for a little while longer before Hank decided it would be best if they discussed Kurt's rocky arrival elsewhere. Logan and Kitty stayed, still worried about their friend.

oO-Oo

Kurt's eyes felt like lead and his head hurt from the moment he woke. His chest felt like someone was standing on it mercilessly. Somewhere on his right leg felt tingly and numb and he could feel bandages wrapped around it. His stomach felt like it would rebel at any moment but his muscles were so weak and achey that he doubted he could get to a bathroom-

Wait. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was being questioned by something blue and…Logan! His eyes flew open. His time in Genosha came rushing back to him. Kurt sat up on the bed, something tugged on the crook of his arm, but in his attempt to spring up he upset his stomach and tipped his nausea over the edge. He heard some say "oh boy" before shoving a bucket into his arms where he threw up, well, nothing. He hadn't eaten in two days so all that came up was bile. It burned in his throat and made his eyes water. He sat there coughing into the bucket until a few tears slipped out of the corner of his eye. A dainty hand carded through his sweaty hair and pushed it back.

Someone else was kneading the tense muscles in his back gently. "Alright," they said, "Alright." They sounded a lot like Logan. Kurt fell back onto the fluffed pillows and someone took the bucket from him. He brought up a shaky hand to rub his chest to try and ease the pain. He wheezed in a breath and blew it out slowly. "Open up yer eyes, Elf." Oh yes, it was Logan. Dazedly, he obeyed his friend's words. Kitty and Logan were standing on opposite sides of his bed looking down at him with relief in their eyes but worry lines etched into the corners of their mouths.

"Hallo." Kurt said and winced. It hurt to speak, even that one word.

"Hey, Kurt. How do you feel?" Kitty asked him softly, grabbing his hand.

"Tired," was all that Kurt said. Kurt rubbed his burning eyes. He shivered, though, and he felt a larger hand rest lightly on his head.

Logan patted his head and asked, "You feel up to tellin' us what happened at Genosha?"

"Yes." Kurt said firmly and tried to answer but a wet cough was drawn from his lungs. He braced himself against the sheets and brought up a hand to cough into. It felt like forever until he could breathe again, heaving in gasps to make up for the time spent hacking up a lung. He was left weak and boneless and the only thing keeping him from doubling over uncomfortably was Logan's arms.

Logan snorted halfheartedly. "Yeah, right. We can wait, Elf. You just rest." Kitty wiped the sweat off of his forehead with a towel while Logan pushed him back into the bed. Despite his protests, Kurt's eyes fluttered closed and he was out like a light.

oO-Oo

It was upsetting to sit by their friend's bedside as he fought to breathe easier. They could do nothing as he tossed and turned in his sleep and his fever rose. The pair could only try to ease his pain, brush the drops of sweat from his navy fur, squeeze his hand when the nightmares came. Maybe it was enough to help just a little, maybe their efforts were in vain. Either way they wouldn't leave his side for a second.

The others came by, one by one, chatted and offered their help so that Logan and Kitty could take a break. Again and again they refused until they got the message. Storm frowned slightly at their rejection, but understood why. After the…incident, no one had known if Kurt was still alive. There hadn't been a single peep out of him, not one blip on the radar. Nightcrawler had disappeared off the face of the earth much too easily. Without any hint against it, the remaining X-Men had begun to believe he was-

That he was-

But Kurt was right there, sleeping and wheezing away. He'd recover soon without any lasting effects. The thought was the only thing keeping the atmosphere in the room from plummeting every time he coughed in his sleep.

The day took what seemed like an eternity to end. It had been about noon when they found their injured team mate on the road, and Kitty and Logan were both tired. They had been tense and alert the whole day, calming Kurt down whenever he woke up delirious and afraid. He finally showed signs of improving: his fever went down and his eyes were clearer in the short time that he was awake. Of course, the wheeze was still present but the pain lines around his eyes softened.

If asked, Wolverine would never admit to tucking Nightcrawler in and putting a blanket around Shadowcat. He definitely wouldn't admit to falling asleep holding Nightcrawler's hand, either, even though that was _exactly_ what happened.

And if it came up, he'd never confirm that he grinned widely, genuinely, when Kurt was strong enough to tell him to kick Magneto's ass the next morning.


End file.
